>> talk about high expectations, apple profit was up 24%. wall street, not that happy about it. all right, nicole. pre-market, what's the stock doing? >> well, it went back and forth. it was lower and then it was higher and not too far off the unchanged line now today. so we'll see what happens today, but the truth is it, they didn't meet the analyst's estimates, their forecasts are weaker than expected, but still have a heck after lot of products for the holiday season. stuart: they do, and they sold 20 odd million, 26 million iphones, i think. i think it was 26 million. in about 14 billion ipads. that's where the weakness came in, because the people were waiting for the ipad mini and that's the disappointment, i think. >> that's what they saw with the iphone 4. everybody didn't necessarily buy the four, they were waiting for the five and people were waiting for the next apple product. stuart: nonetheless, this is the first time for a long time when apple has come down from 705 to

60 something, down about 100 bucks and you haven't seen a bounce the day after a product introduction. and that's a surprise to me. stuart: we'll see the day after isn't done yet. stuart: that's true, okay, okay, early days. nicole, thank you indeed. the economy, i'm going to call it tepid at best. we really do not have a robust recovery and you cannot say that. the 2% growth rate over the summer, that's it. and joining the company is brian wesbury, he's the chief economist at first trust advisors and i'm calling it tepid and i'm saying that it's still the worst recovery from a major recession, how do you see it? >> you know, stuart, i wouldn't disagree with the word tepid. i call it a plow horse economy. and we've talked about that before. it clearly isn't a race horse, it's a plow horse, but the plow horse, metaphor, if you will, i think is important because lots of people think that just

because it's weak, it means it's about to fall over and that's not true. a plow horse moves slow, but it's really a sturdy animal and not going to collapse because it's moving slow. the economy is growing 2%. stuart: i think the obama administration is going to try to spin this, as positive. 2% in the summer and better than the spring. we've got that. you look inside the number, i see a big jump in federal government spending up 9.6%, you're going to have people who say, they juiced the numbers. they knew it was the last big picture report before the election and release all of this federal money and juice it up and give awes better growth rate and you say what? >> hey, they could have done that, stuart. i don't know. but, if you take out government, we still grew 1.3-- 1.6%, which is right in line with basically what we've seen over the past three and a half years, about 2% growth.

that's about it. and here is how i think we get to that 2% growth. on one side, we have these great new inventions, that nothing to do with the government. the clouds, the smart phones, the tablets, this was not built by government. this was built by, heck, steve jobs for one, but others and it's an amazing new technology, but on the other side, the counter weight, what's keeping us from growing 4% per year, is that government is so big. we're spending more. take defense out of the budget and we're spending more as a federal government than we've ever spent before and that government spending is killing the ability of these entrepreneurs to create growth. so, these two counter posing forces are why we're growing only 2% instead of 4. and government is robbing us of the benefits of that technology. >> i want to politicize this for a second. and get your forecast, not a forecast for the election, but a

forecast for next year, given different election results. first of all. >> right. >> let's assume, let's assume that president obama gets a second term. i think that means tax increases on the rich. and probably a cut in military spending, would you agree with that. >> right. >> and what do you think happens to the economy, 2013 with a second obama term? real fast. >> withhthe second obama term, i think the plow horse continues and it may slow down, especially with the tax increase. i still don't think we're going to go fully off the fiscal cliff. so i'm not going to predict a recession next year. stuart: okay, plow horse continues under obama. 2%. yet, romney wins. >> or worse, and romney wins and we get tax reform, lower tax rates and fewer deductions and then what? >> i think if we can cut government spending, that's one of the key things, even tax reform's not enough. we have to cut the size of government. i think romney and ryan will do that and tax reform, we can

accelerate and we can be growing at 4% within a couple of years. the unemployment rate will be coming down. one key thing here, i believe there's 3 to 5% of gdp that's being held back right now, businesses are holding back because of uncertainty. if romney wins, that gets unleashed and i think the economy accelerates. >> all right, brian, we hear you loud and clear with 11 days to go. and tech stocks, we're 11 days away from the election, mitt romney has seized the moments tum, looking at the polls. are we reading that right? has he indeed seized the momentum. is the president really on the ropes? we're following that, too. a triple digit loss for the dow, it looked that way earlier, but not now, paired the loss to maybe 25 points. we'll bring you the opening bell in a couple of minutes. [ male announcer ] this is steve.

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down and cheering about. plus, dig within those numbers and you see that the federal government spending went up 9.6%. it is possible that that number, 2% growth, was juiced a little by that big increase in government spending. okay. and check the big board, we're now off and running and the dow jones average opened slightly lower this morning and expecting it to go down maybe 20 points in the first couple of minutes of business. apple, that's not the only big tech name that disappointed investors. i bring you amazon. first quarterly loss in about 5 years and the outlook not that cool. nicole, amazon where? >> i'm surprised to see it higher here. the truth is that they come out with the quarterly loss and distribution warehouses and the economic slowdowns in europe, and you do have morningstar noting the obvious, which is for the holiday season face intense competitions.

a lot of the retailers, the stores that you can into are ready to match independent prices hosted on amazon. names like best buy and target, some of the retailers are getting ready to get tough in the holiday season. >> you know, i think that amazon is up because it made a loss because it was spending heavily so that it grows rapidly in the future. i think investors like that, and that's why that thing is back up to 230 this morning, what do you thiik? >> all right, well, we talked to the warehouses and technology. stuart: yeah. >> these things are laying the groundwork for the futuree that's true. >> thank you very much. the dow is down just two points, that's it. now, apple shares, they've started trading and take a look, profits were up and apparently disappointed. one point to be made here, they sold 26 million iphones, pretty good. but samsung sold 56 million galaxies, that's a compare and contrast. apple opening pretty flat.

a notable drop in gas prices, 3.57 is your price now. and diesel down at 4.08. gas, by the way, down roughly a quarter. just in the past month. and let's get the big picture now. governor romney pulling ahead in several national polls, "the washington post," abc news tracking poll has got governor romney ahead by three. the latest ap in that poll shows president obama with 45 and romney 4767, both polls show appears to me, breaking out. chris wilson of the research. joins us now. all right, chris, and if i say that governor romney is gaining momentum and at this point right now, 11 days to go, he's just broken out. i know you're a republican, but am i going too far? >> well, i'm republican and pollster and data analyst first and foremost. you're not going too far.

three polls released, all have governor romney in the lead and at latest results and breaking for governor romney. i'm not sure anything president obama can do about that. you can sense that in the tone out of the the campaign. he hear them talking about firewall states and sure sign they're playing the defense rather than offense and when you see a candidate do like obama has hereof recent start to attack his opponent personally and using the words, and referring to president obama-- or governor romney incredulous about losing and momentum is headed in the other direction. stuart: i want to raise that issue, i think you're pointing out something that's valid here and that's likability. a personal opinion of mine is, i don't think that voters like to see a president con sending to his opponent. they don't like sarcasm and i think they absolutely do not like, i'm going to call it foul language, i know you hear a lot worse on the streets of new york, a bs-er, those are not

words this a president should use. again, i'm raising the issue of likability as opposed to the poorly performing economy. are you with me on this? >> you're exactly right. because right now we've seen an economy issue that's polling performing and been performing some time. and undecided voters here at the end are going to make up decisions on random things and one of those is likability. coming off the first debate when romney established himself as someone who is credible and had issues and a plan and moving into the second and third debates where he didn't do anything to damage any of that. i would say in the last debate. even though a lot of analysts scored it as a debate win for president obama, i think he hurt himself because he came off as unlikable and angry forward governor romney and didn't do himself any favors there. >> it's two or three points up in the national vote nationally. does that translate into an electoral college victory. you're a pollster, take us through that one. well, you have to go through it

state by state. let's start with important ones. north carolina the president's lost north carolina and moving out and moving resources other places look at florida, governor romney is trending up in florida, trending up in colorado and pulled even there. and won a lot of the stttes that president obama won four years ago, but now let's go to the key state, which is ohio, and when you look at the polls coming out now. they have the ones i look at that mean the most to me are ones using a sort of an evolving sampling model. that is those that are looking at turnout as it will exist in this year 2012 not looking at turnout as existed in 2008 of those, governor romney has pulled even in all of them. and this is really maintained by the turnout that's going on in a county by county basis whereas you break it down the democratic turnout is not in 2008 levels in excess of republicans. it's more like 2000-- and when you look at those,

governor romney pulled even with president obama in state of ohio. an incumbent president kind of gets what they get. right now with him being at 47% and if you look at going into the last 11 days, president obama is probably maxing out in the states and so when he's at 47, 48%, most likely, giver you an example 1980 president carter led governor reagan by 6 points, but getting 46% of the vote. he ended up about that number and governor reagan won a landslide election, i think you're going to see the same sort of things maintained here. stuart: chris wilson, wpa research. >> thank you. stuart: we will have an extra edition of "varney & company" on that election day. and we'll be back at 5 p.m. eastern, very special election day, issue. and don't miss it, please. all-star lineup cast of characters you won't believe. now, please, take a look at this

video. it's another sign of desperation from the obama campaign as romney gains among women? the president releases, i'm going to call it a bizarre ad, new in ten we'll play that in its entirety. and also at 10 a record number of americans collecting social security disability checks in october. the entitlement nation clearly growing, find out by how much at the top of the hour. toyota shares, what's this? now they're down again? >> good news and bad news here for toyota. you want the good news or the the bad news? >> i want the good. >> you're a good news guy, always positive. the global sales numbers have increased 28% year to year. and in that increase, you know what it does? it just expands their global lead over gomes. that's good news for toyota shareholders and toyota itself. however, the bad news. toyota could face a slowdown in

the back half of the year because they are seeing some anti-japanese sentiment over in china. right? and that's where they do sell cars, but japan nationallized the east china sea and some have been in violent protests and that could translate to weaker sales for toyota. >> i believe it has translated to weaker sales there already. all right, nicole, thank you very much indeed. the dow is now up ten points this friday morning and time is money. 30 seconds worth of something else. >> and peggy noonan says that america saw the real president obama at the first debate and she says he looked petulant, full of himself and ed klein wrote the book on the president. we'll ask him about the comments on the president. and microsoft releases a new tablet and robert scovel is our tech guru. and in china, premier amassed a

personal fortune and the chinese government is trying to block what is new york times story. and send your e-mails to varney@foxbusiness.com. the travel website expedia raised profit forecast and the stock is up $7. that's a gain. dekkers, that makes ugg books, lowered, and down nearly 6 bucks, that's a loss. software company ca cut the second time, down a dollar almost 2. sirna is up, and-- cerner, and coin star down. and web based marketing constant

contact, down and devry is up. and those are really 7 early hovers. and hurricane sandy headed to land and warning it could cause major damage. could it cancel halloween? we have got the latest forecast after the break. [ male announcer ] how do you trade? with scottrader streaming quotes, any way you want. fully customize it for your trading process -- from thought to trade, on every screen. and all in real time. which makes it just like having your own trading floor, right at your fingertips. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. try our easy-to-use scottrader streaming quotes.

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>> we've got a new ipo for you, just opened a few minutes ago. white way foods and they make silk milk and butter. and it's trading now the at 17.88. to the big board, as we said it's another flat opening to the market and the volume is very

low. we're up just 8 points, all you've got. we've checked the price of oil and we're at $85 per barrel. okay? not much. and the giants take two games, that would be 2-0 lead in the world series. they scored a run in the 7th inning and one in the 8th and beat the tigers 2-0. now the series goes back to detroit for three games straight starting tomorrow night and get this, giants outfielder, angel-- pronounced pagon. he stole a base and that means, free tacos. >> it can be right? but you're right, yes, one base, one base stolen everybody in america gets a free taco. >> do we get two tacos are two bases are tollen in the series. no, no, now you're back to the crazy part. no. we are not doing that. it's one steal, one taco every person. stuart: and joe buck is good. he called me crazy, you know

that? that's right, go to any taco bell on tuesday, i didn't know about this, but it's on tuesday between 2 and 6 p.m. you get one free taco per person. and no reaction on the shares of yum! brandss the parent of taco bell, could potentially have to give away, think about it, 300 million tacos, i'm not going to call that a stock market reaction. hurricane sandy, that's serious, expected to batter the east coast early ext week just in time for halloween. the hurricane is moving up the east coast already hitting parts of florida and georgia, with high winds and high tides and new york and new jersey can expect the halloween scare, just in time for trick-or-treating. and from accuweather, they're keeping an eye on the storm for us, adrian, obvious question, halloween on the eastern seaboard. i want your pre dictiopredictio going to be washed out? >> it's going to be nasty in some spots for sure. dealing with heavy rain across

parts of the eastern seaboard and not only that, talking about gusty winds and you see the curse of sandy, it's a huge storm and the wind field continues to grow, not just the center of the storm we're concerned about that, we're going to see the impact, from the center. a large chunk around the northeast going to be feeling the impacts earlier in the week. >> i'm going to try to get as specific as i can, i know it's an early forecast, but i want your best forecast where it's going to hit. whereabouts on the eastern seaboard does it hit? if it hits at all. where? >> my best estimate is probably going to be across the southern jersey shore, probably where it's going to be the worst, and that's where the land fall's probably going to occur, but like i said, still going to be feeling impacts far away from where it makes landfall. >> and i tell you, now, that's very precise and we appreciate that, now i want to know when. it's the south part of jersey, upper maryland, okay, i've got that. when does it hit?

>> it's probably going to be early into the week, monday into tuesday, and wednesday is halloween, so, i think some folks going to be drying out by wednesday, but then we're still going to be dealing with some of the impacts across parts of the northeast, so trick-or-treat is going to be dicey for a large chunk of area and those folks that are drying out to be dealing with power outages and how can you trick-or-treat without your light on outside of your house. stuart: thank you for being as precise as you can be on a friday morning before an event hits three days later. i'm going to remember it and see if it comes true. thank you, adrian green. time for your gold report, where are we this friday morning, 1,716 an ounce, it's been there in the low 1700, most of the past ten days. many "varney & company" viewers have noticed charles payne has been absent for the past few weeks and he's back and has a personal story to share with you

why he was out. don't miss this. i'm going to say this is an emotional story. it's personal. charles is next. follow the wings.

>> ladies and gentlemen, prepare to be inspired. charles payne is back with us

today after a long absence. charles is with his wife as she recovers from a heart transplant. this is an extraordinary and inspiring story. and charles is going to give it to us, go. charles: well, stuart, three months ago my wife had open heart surgery, and she had a pump put in and i thought i could do this without this. stuart: you're an emotional guy. charles: listen, she's had a heart problem since she was a teenager and shouldn't have had it, messed her up and long time. and picture on the screen is the day before she had the heart pump. stuart: heart pump. charles: it saved her life, but it was tough. she had a defibrillator and then the heart pump in the left vent cal and a cable stuck out of her stomach into a device this week in turn into a power source, it hurt, see was always in pain in nausea, in the hospital 24 days, and wednesday, two wednesdays ago you're out and i'm sitting

in your seat right there. in between commercials i check my e-mails and a friend of mine, friend and mentor a guy i met 25 years ago met at a brokerage firm a top broker in the firm. big, big time huge money making guy, but nice we hit it off right away and stayed in touch. he sends me an e-mail and i just kind of glimpsed at it said my daughter is dead. i thought it said i wish i could give yvonne the heart, i wasn't sure and forwarded the e-mail to my wife and one of the things like the middle of the show so she gets in touch with him and turns out they're the same blood type. and now everyone's getting excited wednesday night though we were told by new york and california you can't have the heart. we can't fly the heart more than four hours, no big deal we get on the plane, you have to be a california resident for a year, but it's a direct donation, okay, so we gave up on it. and kind of gave up on it, wednesday around midnight i came in on thursday, and on my way home, 4:30, my wife calls

sobbing and said we got the heart. and you know, so we went out there. stuart: hold on. charles: sorry. stuart: so you went out to california with the heart transplant operation performed in california. charles: it was at cedars, the best, absolutely best in the world. >> your wife took the heart after young woman. charles: 20-year-old girl. stuart: who you knew yoo i knew the family i knew the mother, i knew the father. stuart: i'm almost out of time and i want to continue this. tell me how is your wife now. charles: she'ssdoing amazing. stuart: really. charles: does she feel like a new woman. stuart: restored. charles: went to the first two-- it's like a bull in a chute so powerful and she has not felt this way. she was in so much pain and down and depressed so long and it's literally a rebirth, stuart, it's new life and you know, it's painful because it's a young girl, 20 years old. i spent time with her family and

father and mother on wednesday and-- >> i want to tell you charles from everybody on "varney & company" and i into from our viewers, we want to wish you the very best, and your wife of course. charles: thanks a lot. stay right there. we've got a show to do. all right. we're back with more "varney & company" after the break, what a show. this bible changed the world. i'm kirk cameron. four hundred years ago our forefathers risked their lives to bring this bible to the shores of america.

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stuart: new at 10:00 the latest ad from the obama campaign. you have to see it to believe it. is geared toward young women voting for the first time. actress lena donovan asks signor first time the with barack obama. what? this is a real ad and perhaps the latest example of i am going to call it desperation from the president. we will play the fool at in one minute. new at 10:00 a big number. the number of people collecting social security disability it's a new record in october and the number is eight.eight million. that is 975 new enrollees under president obama per day. the big story of the day is the election and the economy. you will not hear from president obama today. very interesting. no public events have been scheduled. rather strange for this close to an election. mitt romney will speak in iowa

about the latest gdp report which shows modest under tepid growth at best. 2% annualized growth rate to sum up the july through september. that is the last gdp. big picture report before the election. let's go to the polls. washington post as romney up by 3 nationally. no debate bump for the president. same story in the ap poll which has romney up by 2. another swing state moved into the romney column. that is virginia. fox news reporting a two point lead for romney. the president led by 7 a month ago in that state. romney has seized the momentum. here's the company friday morning. gerri willis is here. you heard from charles payne. nicole petallides on the floor of the new york stock exchange. check the big board. we are down 21 points. i will call that flak. some news from travel companies. one of them is way up.

nicole: we will kick it off with expedia. out with the revenue. check out. out with the stock. year-to-date it is up 100%. they have hot wire and hotels.com under their umbrella and did well with hotel bookings pn the asia pacific region and in europe and with all of this we are seeing price line jumping as well. both names getting the big pot, good record and good outlook for expedia. i wanted to add i was glad to hear charles's store. lots of love and good luck. stuart: the response is pouring in as we speak and it is all good stuff. the president is losing ground in the polls and now campaign is getting i am going to call it desperate. here's a new ad. for those not familiar with hershey is creator and star of a racy show on hbo called girls. roll it. >> you're first time should be

just anybody. you want to do it with a great guy. it should be with a guy with beautiful, someone who cares about and understands women. >> before i was a girl, known i was out. i went to the holding station and passed the curtain. i voted for barack obama. stuart: all right. that tests the company. are you comfortable with the sexual imagery in a campaign ad like that? gerri: i am not offended. i think it is silly. we are not voting for our best friend. we are not voting for a lover. we are not voting for somebody to take us to school in the morning. we are voting for a president. you need to make a serious selection on issues like the economy which we have been talking about all morning. it is offensive. stuart: i want to roll another clip. this is from president obama four years ago in the campaign in 2008 using language that is not bad language but i think

language which i am shocked to hear. >> how we help the american autoworkers? >> hold on a second, sweetie. stuart: a female reporter asking him a question. hold on one second, sweetie. that was from the president. received no press at the time. tracy: that was worse. stuart: charles, how do you feel? this sexual imagery from a young woman, a star from hollywood in a tv ad for president obama as if for -- the use of the words we be four years ago. this is a campaign going after women and losing ground. charles: he is a democrat in hollywood. we know that. interesting, talked about a line in the sand. i think about a picture of mitt romney as a young guy with that big line in the beach, they keep suggesting somehow president obama -- mitt romney is somehow

doesn't -- [talking over each other] charles: s far as the offensive language i got to tell you bulgaria is at record level. my son is 13 and i listen to his music. it is sailors 20 years ago -- i am telling you -- [talking over each other] gerri: it changes the plainfield. but that is not what he said to rolling stone. stuart: nicole, you were listening to that. nicole: i watched that commercial and i think it is grows. i am offended by it. i don't like any insinuation with sex in our president. i think is really grows. i am not a fan of that. it is more offensive than the kids ice of fooling around in the bushes in central park this week. stuart: we posted the entire ad on our facebook page and here is what women are saying about it. they saw the ad and here's the response. marsha says i couldn't believe

what i was hearing. talk about trashy. joanne, quote, obama suggesting enticing propositioning young women, discussing. katherine says this is demeaning to women and the office of the presidency. this is so and professional land and presidential, what has happened to our country? where did it gg? you can follow us on facebook and chime in. and active and interesting conversation. we have been saying the president and his campaign are showing signs of desperation. president obama unveiled his new economic plan, 20 pages of glossy pamphlet. the announce plans for a grand bargain to fix that that's but president obama have a new low in like ability -- mitt romney, this kind of comment, does this affect his likability?

joining us is ed klein, author of the amateur. he wrote the book on president obama. i am using the word desperation. is that part of the personality profile you would have assembled for the president? >> i have a feeling the president thinks he is on a basketball court with some opponent doing trash talk. the whole campaign has turned into trash talk. schoolyard i am going to make you uncomfortable and say terrible things. stuart: when you know the man not personally but you have analyzed the man and his personality. >> indicates romney and the romney campaign have gone under his skin. he is a very thin skinned guy. he does not like to be challenged. he thinks romney doesn't even have the qualifications to be on the same stage with him. here romney is pulling ahead and it has thrown him off his game and that is why he is reacting

this way. stuart: described, how would you describe the president, his personality? what is the light? >> arrogant, sense of superiority, hardiness, who dress -- the smartest guy in the room. gerri: you spent a lot of time thinking about this. is also isolated. >> he is isolated except michele obama and valery jerrod, senior political adviser who reinforces his isolation because there's a small little triumvir its of three people. stuart: does he reach out to members of congress? >> not at all and that includes democrats as well as republicans. i spoke to dozens of democrats and there are complaints about obama, the same as the

republicans. stuart: doesn't invite him to watch a movie in the white house screening room or invite them to dinner. >> ronald reagan used to invite to the meal for a drink and they worked -- never happens with obama. charles: what we are talking about is someone with a rock star mentality. he surrounds himself with 6 offense, no trust or believe in anyone else and -- really, we are talking about a person who feels he is a rock star. >> he is treated by people around him like a rock star, like muhammad ali. they don't treat him as a politician. stuart: 11 days ago. you can change your likability factor. can't be, different guy. he is stuck with this image. >> the whole campaign has been a reflection of his character. the debate for instance. he gets on stage with romney and looks like he would like to murder this guy because he has no right to be on stage with him. stuart: you wrote the book and know what you are talking about. see us again soon. the big economic story of the

day just 2% growth for the economy. during summer months. july through september. may try to spin this as better than expected and better than the numbers we got in spring but 2% growth is not what a real robust recovery looks like. rich edson joins us from washington now. mitt romney is going to speak about the economy and iowa today. i think you know what he is going to say. rich: he says slow economic growth means slow job growth and declining take-home pay. this is what four years of president obama's policies have produced. his line in iowa is the economy is not working. elect me and paul ryan will get it going. stuart: that is not a harsh line of attack. there is no harshness in that. we don't know what tone of voice he will deliver it in but the content is not harshly critical. >> they are trying to be matter-of-fact. they say if you like the present

economy you can vote for the incumbent. if you don't, vote for me. added the line along. we have one more important economic data point when it comes to the jobs numbers. stuart: this is a speech by mitt romney in iowa. this is bill -- is this build as a major presentation on the economy? a big deal? >> this is an economic policy speech. a hoot -- he was supposed to have delivered it already. this is to contrast the point they drew. the last debate mostly foreign policy. governor romney tried to take it back to the economy and make the economic points. the president has no plan and he wants to hammer that point through election day. stuart: thanks very much. by the way we will say again. president obama has no appearances scheduled, public appearances schedulld for today. that is unusual 11 days before an election. we made a lot of comparisons between this year's election and

won in 1980. bad economy, turmoil in the middle east, incumbent democrat president not wildly popular. ronald reagan trailed jimmy carter in the polls. 32 years ago. how did he turn it around? carter was ahead over governor romney 32 years ago. how did ronald reagan turned around? mike reagan will join us with that perspective later this hour. that will be 10:33. i do have some good news for you. you will get a second helping of "varney and company" on election day. we will be here 9:20 and then we will be back for another helping as we say of "varney and company" at 5:00 p.m. eastern time. new at 10:00, a new record and a number of people collecting social security disability insurance benefits. 8,803,335 is a very big number. it has exploded under president

obama, 975 people day added to the list since the president took office. you are shaking your head? gerri: more people on entitlements, more people feeling the economy produces more opportunities so they will been on uncle sam. is a tragedy. we can't go there. not a good direction for the country. charles: it is a scandal. when it is uncovered what is going on a lot of men, 26 years old, sitting on a porch all day because every two weeks they get crazy check and on disability and we started the show talking about my wife. it took her two years being out of work before she was eligible for disability. now you can go as a young adult male and say the economy is too tough and they will give you a check. stuart: president obama and mitt romney in a dead heat in the critical state of ohio tape -- tied in the latest rasmussen told. more momentum for the governor because he is catching up. those romney have to win?

must the win in ohio? it is a battleground state. we will talk about that with former secretary of state in ohio next. you see us, at the start of the day. on the company phone list that's a few names longer. you see us bank on busier highways. on once empty fields. everyday you see all the ways all of us aus bank are helping grow our economy. lending more so companies and communities can expand, grow stronger and get back to work. everyday you s all of us serving you, around the country, around the corner. us bank.

stuart: a big number, 2%. that is it. that is all the growth for the u.s. economy in the summer months. not too good. kind of shabby but better than

we have seen recently. the romney campaign moments ago calling it the latest round of discouraging economic news. no market reaction to it. right now with our industrial average is up 12 points. shares of expedia big winner this morning. online travel company, hotel bookings are strong even in europe. that is also helping shares of price line which is up $25. we are following hurricane sandy. we got a report from accu-weather. sandy expected to make landfall in southern new jersey. that is the best guess. it could ruin halloween for kids in the northeast. back in 90 seconds with the latest polls in the swing states.

stuart: bad economic news out of the euro zone. one in four senior debt officially without a job. country statistics agency says the national unemployment rate rose slightly over the summer. has now hit 25%. spain is in its second recession in three years. the latest jobs numbers push them to ask for a bailout. we will see about that. you do the math cannot have the electoral votes you realize ohio could decide this election. latest rasmussen poll shows ohio has a tie, did even. ohio as 18 on tour college votes. joining us is former secretary

of state in ohio, it is a dead heat. who has momentum in ohio. who is moving up and moving down? >> romney has the momentum. a month ago if you looked at the polls he was 11 points behind the president. to have dramatically close that gap to a dead heat means romney has the momentum and inside of that momentum is the gap he closed among women. that has been substantial and the obama team has overplayed women as a monolithic group that are only concerned about reproductive rights and contraception. stuart: a few moments ago we ran a brand new commercial which featured a young actress, i think being sexually suggestive

in talking to president obama. a lot of us were not exactly offended but very surprised to hear it. i don't know whether you caught it or not but basically refers to what you are saying about the president losing ground with women. did you see it by any chance? >> yes. can you give us your response? >> it is an act of desperation. the president is losing a very big issue and that is the leadership issue. whether it is how he handled or mishandled been gauzy or the fact that he has become an apologist for a dismalnghazi or that he has become an apologist for a dismal economic recovery people are questioning his leadership. ohio will come down to who can get their folks to the polls on election day and before because we are now projecting anywhere

from 33 to 38% of the voting electorate will have voted by election day. gerri: my name is gerri willis. i am with my hat--miami and ohio. it is the union state. how is romney overcoming that? >> let's take the auto industry for example. honda is the largest auto manufacturer in the state. it is nonunion. the fact is while the union automobile workers are pro obama, there are folks who are longshoremen, dairy farmers, coal miners who are dissatisfied and as a consequence what we are seeing is a romney is coming on stronger among blue-collar workers, many of them who are without a job or underemployed.

stuart: former secretary of state in the buckeye state, thanks for joining us. you are in the middle of the action. come see again because we want to know i use a canned tired of the commercials bombarding you all the time? >> it is all about turnout and getting folks to the polls. stuart: president obama losing points on one overlooked issue, like ability. that is in my take next. bob...

oh, hey alex. just picking up some, brochures, posters copies of my acceptance speech. great! it's always good to have a backup plan, in case i get hit by a meteor. wow, your hair looks great. didn't realize they did photoshop here. hey, good call on those mugs. can't let 'em see what you're drinking. you know, i'm glad we're both running a nice, clean race. no need to get nasty. here's your "honk if you had an affair with taylor" yard sign.

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>> of the other side, the counterweight, what is keeping us from growing 4% 3 year is government is so big. stuart: that was the last hour on why gdp came in at 2% growth rate. you should tune in at 9:20 sharp. check the big board. still saying it is flat, back to amazon. still higher, was $1.07. nicole: not robust either. let's look at how amazon is fairing to the upside. remember that movie field of

dreams, build it and they will come? that seems to be the plan for amazon. build it and they will come. new distribution warehouses, spending on technology. investing hundreds of millions of dollars on digital content to sell through its kendall, tablet and e. reeder, spending for the future. stuart: that is good. [talking over each other] stuart: that is what we want companies to do. spend the stuff and grow in the future. what is wrong with that? nicole: build it and they will come. that is what they are betting on. they will benefit. stuart: you sounded cynical for a second. nicole: not cynical by nature. stuart: thank you very much. we may return to you later. president ronald reagan asked a simple question in 1980. listen to this again. >> next tuesday all of you will go to the polls and stand in the

polling place and make a decision. i think when you make that decision that might be well if you ask yourself, are you better off than you were four years ago? stuart: who could forget that? today many voters are asking themselves that very question but that is not the only parallel between now and 32 years ago? reagan and carter were closed and the hole like obama and romney. mike reagan joins the company at 10:33. can the governor pull out a victory like his dad did in 80. find out in a couple minutes. i think we are overlooking something in this election. here is my take on looking, acting and speaking in a way that makes a president likable. i confess i was surprised when mr. obama used the words be ss walk the streets of new york and you will hear worse than that but this is the president of the

united states. why did he do that? i don't like to hear members of the obama team used the word meyer repeatedly about governor romney. using words like that bring down the national conversation, don't they? and the way the president looked and acted during the debate. he was sarcastic and condescending and came across as arrogant and even petulant. these things registering voters minds. the president represents the country. are we arrogant and petulant? i don't think so. we are told the economy is issue number one. our wallets dictate our vote and that is largely true but do not underestimate the importance of image. we will look at governor romney every day on television for the next four years. many people vote for the guy they like. when it comes to likability the president is coming across well. he did it to himself.

we are in the final stretch and here is the question. can president obama become suddenly likable in 11 days? that is a tough one. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro.

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stuart: no denying.

here is today's rasmussen told. it has mitt romney with a three point lead over president obama. a month ago those numbers were reversed with obama 50, romney 37. on this date in 1988 gallup poll had president jimmy carter with a three point lead. joining us is mike reagan of reagan.com. a gallup poll has mr. carter, a three point lead over your dad, that was two weeks before the election. but your dad reversed it. how did he do that. >> i was in pennsylvania that day. 66 airplane rides and along with my sister and what you saw was in 1980 the independents started to break ronald reagan. what you were talking about is image, like ability.

that played a huge part in the campaign of 1980 towards the end and when people broke they broke for ronald reagan. they liked what they saw. he wasn't above warmonger the card read ministration and democrats had put out for the public to see. make felt comfortable, romney is ahead. i hope he hasn't peaked too soon. we peaked in the final weekend. stuart: you peaked, your dad and his campaign. i am surprised to hear you say that. i thought he was gaining momentum all the way through to election day and peaked on election day and won by 10 points. >> absolutely but we were gaining, but you start closing time down and all of a sudden the election coming up the first week in november and you are

looking at this and he was gaining but didn't really peak until the end and that is when you want to peak in this election so when people break they break towards you and this election you are looking at is very much like what went on in 1980. the middle east bomb. iran was the problem in 1980 and is the problem today out of libya and now you have met romney who people are starting to say he is a likable guy. he really looks good. he is saying the right things and the image of the president, the condescending way he ran the debate the other night -- stuart: lots of parallels. the middle east then and now, the economy then and now, incumbent democrat then and now. you put your finger on the most important parallel, the debate. the debate in denver was a

watershed just like it was free dad when he came out with the are you better off, and. >> absolutely. the debate meant everything in 1980 because it showed ronald reagan as likable where mitt romney became likable in the first debate, my dad took it to jimmy carter, that whole new image. they were able to control the image instead of allowing the mainstream media and the democrats to control the image they want you to see of the other candidate. that is when ronald reagan started to break out and mitt romney broke out. stuart: you have not always been gung-ho for mitt romney. he was not your candidate of choice going through the primaries. are you behind him now? do you think he has the qualities that would make him another ronald reagan? some people are saying that. would you say that of mitt romney? >> i think mitt romney needs to have the qualities that make him a great president. we are making a mistake by looking for ronald reagan. we devalue that person.

mitt romney wins because he has done it on his own. what happens, i talked to people all the time. let's not walk past the next great leader of our movement by looking for ronald reagan. we were looking for abraham lincoln when you voted for my father. let's not look for ronald reagan and be glad we had ronald reagan in our lifetimes. let's learn from ronald reagan but not look for the next ronald reagan. stuart: ten seconds. does president obama win california by ten points 415 points? >> 20. stuart: the still room in my house in new jersey. >> see you on the seventh. stuart: good man. we always appreciate you being with us. thanks very much. got to break in for breaking news on citigroup. we flashed it on the bottom of your screen. citigroup has fired its internet

analyst for leaking confidential information on the facebook ipo. the bank has been fined $2 million in this case. city shares down on the news, 2% lower. microsoft lays it all on the line with windows 8 and the new tablet to. it could be make or break. up next a former microsoft employee gives his verdict n microsoft's new products. you have to dig a little. fidelity's etf market tracker shows you the big picture on how different asset classes are performing, and it lets you go in for a closer look at areas within a class or sector that may be bucking a larger trend. i'm stephen hett of fidelity investments. the etf market tracker isne more innovative reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. get 200 free trades today and explore your next investing idea. new pink lemonade 5-hour energy? 5-hour energy supports the avon foundation for women breast cancer crusade.

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stuart: here is a big number. apple profits, $8 billion in the latest quarter but the stock is barely changed. the reason? i had sales of $14 million in three months. not bad but not enough. some say sales were hurt because of anticipation of the ipad mini. stocks are dead flat this friday morning. dow industrials down 9. third quarter gdp growth out this morning, 2% from summer months. that is better, a big reading on the overall economy before the election. stamps.com a gainer. this company lets you print postage from your home or office without going to the post office. better than expected earnings. coming back in 90 seconds with robert sobel. big day for microsoft. will people like the new products? [ engine revving ]

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stuart: two hours after the gdp report comes out we get this from chief economic adviser alan krugman. today's report shows the economy posted its thirteenth straight quarter of positive growth, further evidence the economy is moving in the right direction. compare that with what we told you mitt romney said, quote, slow economic growth means slow job growth and declining take home pay. this is what obama's policies

have produced. a contrast. now, a landau lakes butter, the idea came out where it is always down. nicole: we saw a jump earlier today. and it is up 12%. here it is. it is below $17. wasn't there moments ago. it is selling off and breaking the ipo price. this is seen as the best part of dean foods. the spinoffs have a lot of hope but it is interesting to see it below the ipo price. stuart: right at 17. ipos at 17 an hour later for an 17 right there. thanks very much. microsoft releases its newest operating system, windows 8 and its new touchscreen tablets called the surface. this is from the tech company's latest bid and that is a brilliant bid to sit day in the

game. robert, you work that microsoft. you were right in there in the heyday of the company. would you say this new product, windows 8, is it a breakthrough? it is a different operating system. >> it certainly is. it gets microsoft back in competition with the apple's strategy steve jobs put in place three years ago with the ipad. it is aimed at stopping the bleeding. i have taken several trips and on the plane i have seen ipads on every road. it is amazing how much the world has changed and microsoft is aimed at stopping the bleeding, keeping people moving to the ipad which hurts microsoft's

$14 billion business over the next ten years. stuart: two obvious questions. windows 8 is a different system and for people who have gone used to it, who have gotten used to the old system how would they react to the new touching tiles around the screen? go ahead with that one. >> that is the question. microsoft has so many constituencies that will look at this. if -- you have thousands of people talking about trading cuts and employees complaining if you put a new machine on their desk and that is why stock has been slow to react to the changes the ipad, i phone and landing in the marketplace. so many customers out there they are apt to really change.

ignore windows 8 for a year. search stuart: a sharp edge of opinion from you. i realize you want to hedge -- microsoft back in the game. >> it got microsoft back in the game for the immobile and tablets. they owned the rest of the world. if you are going to buy a desktop or laptop you are buying the windows computer unless you are a silicon valley deep like me buying the mcintosh. most people buy windows blew jeff stuart: i want to know when microsoft becomes a growth company again. >> i don't see that happening -- taking a wait-and-see attitude.

i don't see this being a growth thing. in play for 2013-14. thth might be at different year. google last week showing these wearable computers hooking into it. that kind of -- stuart: i may be totally and technophobia and i am. it hooks into your android phone. you want to tell me exactly what -- >> you can take pictures. it has camera and works with look for your pictures and look through the web and if you are -- it is a wearable computer. stuart: i feel like such a

neanderthal because all i say is who would never use something like that? >> it is true. you are going to be wearing them while doing the news because you will have people talking to you in your eye. stuart: over my dead body. i don't even have a computer on the set for me. star you couldn't do more for markets. >> it will be in soon. not very confident in it but they have something going. stuart: thank you very much indeed. the chinese government blocks the new york times. chinese premier and his family really are. they have a huge fortune. we will bring you that story. very interesting number for you "after the bell".

neil: the prime minister of china's family has amassed a fortune of $2.7 billion. chinese government is trying to block the article. charles: it is a big deal.

i am telling you, of this hypocrisy take from the rich and give to the poor. stuart: the chinese people find out about this they will be really mad. charles: they kicked out of the communist party saying he sti lot of money. he was nowhere near $3 billion. stuart: we will follow this. it is of big deal. fin picks and lotions and number of third people on social security disability. 8.8 trillion people collecting those benefits a as of right no. that a record number reached in october. elizabeth macdonald has the story. i am trying to figure out, if you have all these people on disability, you are taking the mouth of the work force. liz: even though white house in a december report said you keep them permanently out of the workforce essentials the saying

workers on disability rarely return to the work force. that is a direct quote from a report from the white house. stuart: what does that mean? all these people permanently out of the workforce? liz: you had a loss of economic contribution from those workers and the cbo, non-partisan -- these workers to get back into the work force. the other problem -- after two years they qualify for medicare payments putting pressure on. stuart: it came down to 7.8% because -- this -- number keeps the unemployment rate low and may push it lower. liz: you can make that argument. the thing is this program is set to go belly up and insolvent by 2018.

how long can we -- stuart: great story. liz: we have a story on the web site too. stuart: all day long. thanks very much. highlight reel is next. follow the wings.

stuart: the friday morning highlight reel. >> hold on one second, sweetie. >> no one really cares about and understand women. >> as far as the sense of language, vulgarity is at a record level. >> you want to do it with a great guy. >> that is grosser and more offensive. >> arrogance, sense of superiority. >> i went to the polling station, pulled back the curtain --

stuart: there was another wonderful story on this program today and that was charles and his wife who recently had a heart transplant. charles brought that us that very personal story. do you have anything to add? charles: people should really strongly consider donating their organs. a 20-year-old girl who had the wisdom to do that made a difference for a people in one night. that is something i really want to be an advocate for. stuart: and your wife is now doing just fine? charles: amazing. it is amazing. stuart: there were tears on this program. we wish you very well, charles. especially your wife. dagen: prayers and blessings. charles is not allowed to come on this program and talk with me about it. we are both marshmallows. neither one of uou